Airlines Hike Flight Prices To Flood-Hit Regions Of Kerala!
As floods wreak havoc in Kerala, few airlines have hiked the ticket prices for flights travelling to rain-hit parts of the state!
Flights operations at the Cochin International Airport have been suspended till 26th of August due to heavy downpour in the region. Due to this government has asked airlines to reschedule their cochin bound flights to the Thiruvananthapuram Airport and Calicut International Airport.
Usually a flight ticket from Bangalore to the above-mentioned airports costs around Rs 4000, however, the prices have increased to Rs 15000 for a single way ticket. In fact, flight tickets from Bangalore to Mangalore are as high as Rs 18000. It seems like airlines want to make the most of this situation.
The move has sparked criticism and people took to Twitter to complain about this. Union Minister Mr. DV Sadananda Gowda tweeted yesterday saying that private airlines are at money making Shame and has asked Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Jayant Sinha, to introduce more flights to Kerala.
Several Twitter users expressed their frustration over the shameful act of the airlines and suggested that profiting during the times of natural disasters should be dealt with stringent laws. Some users even went on to say that these airlines had lost their humanity.
The Central government has asked domestic airlines to keep a check on airfares for flights operating to and from Kerala.
According to the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, a spike in airfares has been observed on different routes to Kerala. Concerned airlines have been advised to cap the airfare on these flights. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airfare on 18 domestic routes are being monitored.